Drawer receptacle

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates generally to improvements in drawer receptacles and more particularly to receptacles in the form of a drawer adapted to be supported by a frame structure in cantilever fashion. Flange means provided at the forward extremity of the drawer cooperate with horizontally spaced frame members to permit the drawer to tilt downwardly toward the rear extremity thereof thereby preventing unauthorized or unintentional withdrawal of the drawer from the frame structure. The particular embodiment disclosed herein is designed to accommodate telephone bases, head sets, and the like.

United States Patent Andrews et al.

1 1 Dec. 26, 1972 s4] DRAWER RECEPTACLE 809,976 1/1906 Ober ..s12 323 ux [72] Inventors: Donald E. Andrews, Schaumburg; 2 g "220/22 x astelh ..206/45.l4 X g arl gi g 2,336,494 12/1943 Metcalf ..229/DlG. 11 ux es ar 1 ge, a o [73] Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc., Chicago, Examiner-Leonard Summer m Attorney-Olson, Trexler, Wolters & Bushnell [22] Filed: July 10, 1970 57 ABSTRACT AMI-P105531332 The present invention relates generally to improvements in drawer receptacles and more particularly to receptacles in the form of a drawer adapted to be sup- [52] U.S. Cl. "312/321",312/330gggg2f ported by a frame Structure in cantilever fashion [51] Int Cl A47!) 88/04 865d 1/2'4 Flange means provided at the forward extremity of the [58] Fie'ld "312/242 312 drawer cooperate with horizontally spaced frame members to permit the drawer to tilt downwardly toward the rear extremity thereof thereby preventing [56] Reta-cums cued unauthorized or unintentional withdrawal of the UNITED STATES PATENTS drawer from the frame structure. The particular emv bodiment disclosed herein is designed to accomga sf lmodate telephone bases, head sets, and the like. r1s 1n eta 803,070 10/1905 Schmidt ..3 12/323 7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures DRAWER RECEPTACLE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has heretofore been common practice with certain industries, as for example telephone companies, in transporting in trucks, equipment for installation such as telephone hand sets, bases, etc., to employ corrugated boxes mounted on the shelves of racks positioned adjacent a side wall of the truck. When the truck arrives at the place of installation it becomes necessary to withdraw the corrugated boxes from the shelves in order to select the required telephone equipment therefrom. It is common practice, when the trucks return at the end of a day for restocking, to remove the empty corrugated boxes for disposal and to restock the shelves with another supply of boxed equipment. It is an important object of the present invention to provide a novel drawer type receptacle which will eliminate the necessity of using the aforesaid large bulky corrugated boxes and the like.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a receptacle of the type referred to above, which will facilitate the ease of selection of stored spare parts and the like, and to this end the invention contemplates a drawer receptacle which may be supported in cantilever fashion upon a frame in the vicinity of the front of the drawer with the equipment stored therein readily visable to facilitate selection.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a new and extremely practical storage receptacle in the form of a drawer having convenient access openings and which may be slidably supported in such a manner as to preclude dislodgement of the drawer as a result of truck vibration.

The present invention contemplates a drawer receptacle as referred to above, which because of its structural design may be plastic molded in one piece thereby reducing to a minimum the cost of manufacture.

In the drawings the slidably supported receptacle is illustrated as a storage facility for telephone equipment such as bases, head sets, and the like. Obviously the contemplated receptacle may be used for various products, and the disclosure of telephone equipment is only for the purpose of illustrating one practical use of the receptacle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drawer receptacle which is representative of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the detachable separator or partition panel;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal vertical, sectional view of the receptacles shown in FIG. 1, with a telephone head set stored therein, the receptacle being shown in its downwardly tilted position within a frame structure, fragmentarily illustrated by dotted lines;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical, sectional view similar to' FIG. 3, disclosing the right or front extremity of the receptacle before it assumes its downwardly tilted position;

manner in which a pair of smaller conventional I telephone bases may be stored within the receptacle;

and,

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the frame structure with a pair of drawer receptacles supported in cantilever fashion upon said frame.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings more in detail wherein like numerals have been employed to designate similar parts of the various figures, it will be seen that one embodiment of a drawer receptacle of the type contemplated by the present invention is designated generally by the numeral 10. The receptacle 10 comprises a bottom panel 12, upright side panels 14 and 16, and a rear panel 18 extending between the side panels 14 and 16 and upwardly from the rear margin of the bottom panel 12. In the disclosed embodiment the bottom panel 12 is provided with a pair of longitudinal recesses 20 to accommodate a conventional telephone head set 22.

Particular attention is directed to flange means 24 extending upwardly from the forward extremity of the receptacle 10, and lower flange means 26, extending downwardly from the forward extremity of the bottom panel 12. It will be noted that the flange means 24 provides a shoulder 24a designed to engage one of a plurality of vertically spaced frame members 28 of a frame structure designated generally by the numeral 30. The flange means 26 provides an inner shoulder 26a which is also adapted to engage the horizontal frame member 28 spaced downwardly from the frame member engaged by the upper shoulder 24a. The height of the drawer receptacle 10 is such as to permit insertion thereof between a pair of the vertically spaced frame members 28 as clearly shown in FIG. 9.

It is of significance to note that the shoulder 24a of the flange means 24 is positioned slightly forward of a transverse plane normal to the bottom panel and coincident with the shoulder surface 26a of the flange means 26. As the drawer I0 is being inserted between the horizontal frame members 28, the shoulder 26a of the lower flange means 26 will initially engage the outer surface of the complementary horizontal frame member 28, and the weight of the drawer and its contents will fulcrum on this frame member thereby causing the upper flange shoulder 24a to move from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in F IG. 3, into engagement with the upper frame member 2 8. In this position the drawer 10 will be supported in cantilever fashion as shown in F IG. 3. In this position the weight of the drawer and its contents results in tilting the drawer slightly downwardly. The impingement of the drawer with the frame is sufficient to counteract forces tending to cause the drawer to become dislodged from the frame. As previously mentioned, when drawer receptacles of the above-described type are mounted in frame structures of vehicles such as trucks, impinge-' ment resulting from the aforesaid downward inclination serves to prevent dislodgementthereof which might otherwise result from vibrations to which a truck is normally subjected.

The flange means 24 not only provides the shoulder or abutment 24a, but also provides a handle to facilitate manual manipulation of the receptacle. A partition or separator panel 32 may be detachably mounted within the receptacle. A vertical guide 34 formed integral with the rear panel 18, and a corresponding smaller guide member 36, formed integral with the front bottom structure of the receptacle l0, slidably accommodate the opposite margins of the partition panel 32. In instances where, for example, a pair of the head sets 22 are to be stored within the receptacle, it may be advisable to use the partition panel 32 illustrated in the drawings. However, when items of greater widths such as the telephone base 38 are to be stored as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 9, the partition panel 32 may be withdrawn and placed flatwise for storage upon the upper surface of the bottom panel 12. The larger type telephone base 38 may then be within the receptacle, resting upon the upper surface of the stored partition panel 32. In instances where smaller type telephone bases such as the bases 40, shown in FIG. 8 are to be stored, it may be advisable to employ the separator or partition panel 32 as previously described. It will also be observed that the side walls or panels 14 and 16 are preferably inclined outwardly toward the upper margins as clearly illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the structural design of the drawer receptacle is such as to lend itself for plastic molding. The receptacle as disclosed herein is a one-piece plastic molded product. Hence the cost of drawer receptacles manufactured in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is reduced to a minimum. The access openings of the receptacle makes it possible for the user to observe the receptacle contents and thereby facilitates the inspection of such contents for removal, inventory control, etc. In the disclosed embodiment of the invention, the front extremity of the receptacle is open, but in instances where desired, a removable cover may be used. The cantilever suspension arrangement or design of the receptacle enables the use of a ment of the receptacles from the supporting frame.

We claim:

l. A drawer receptacle for cantilever suspension upon a complementary frame structure including a bottom panel, opposite side panels extending upwardly from said bottom panel, a rear panel extending upwardly from the rear of said bottom panel and between said side panels, the front and top of said receptacle presenting access openings, and upper and lower flange means at the front of said drawer receptacle defining substantially coplanar surfaces for engaging the front surfaces of a complementary drawer accommodating frame structure, the upper flange means defining the upper edge of the front opening and presenting'an I abutment shoulder positioned forwardly of a transverse plane normal to the bottom panel and coincident with the inner surface of the lowerflange means to assure downward tilting of said. receptacle when in cantilevered suspension upon said complementary frame structure, said upper flange means extending forwardly from the abutment shoulder to provide an accessible hand grip for manipulation of the receptacle, said flange means being so disposed as to support substantially the entire weight of said drawer when in cantilevered suspension, the under surface of the bottom wall and the frame engaging surface of the lower flange means intersecting at substantially right angles.

2. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the bottom, side and rear panels and the flange means are formed integral.

3. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 1, including a partition panel detachably associated with the receptacle.

4. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 3, wherein the partition panel is slidably accommodated by guides at the rear and forward extremities of the receptacle.

5. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 4, wherein the partition panel is of such length and width as to permit flatwise accommodation by the bottom of the receptacle after the partition panel has been detached.

6. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the bottom panel is recessed to accommodate the lower portion of an article to be stored in the receptacle.

7. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the side panels are inclined outwardly towards the upper margins thereof. 

1. A drawer receptacle for cantilever suspension upon a complementary frame structure including a bottom panel, opposite side panels extending upwardly from said bottom panel, a rear panel extending upwardly from the rear of said bottom panel and between said side panels, the front and top of said receptacle presenting access openings, and upper and lower flange means at the front of said drawer receptacle defining substantially coplanar surfaces for engaging the front surfaces of a complementary drawer accommodating frame structure, the upper flange means defining the upper edge of the front opening and presenting an abutment shoulder positioned forwardly of a transverse plane normal to the bottom panel and coincident with the inner surface of the lower flange means to assure downward tilting of said receptacle when in cantilevered suspension upon said complementary frame structure, said upper flange means extending forwardly from the abutment shoulder to provide an accessible hand grip for manipulation of the receptacle, said flange means being so disposed as to support substantially the entire weight of said drawer when in cantilevered suspension, the under surface of the bottom wall and the frame engaging surface of the lower flange means intersecting at substantially right angles.
 2. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the bottom, side and rear panels and the flange means are formed integral.
 3. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 1, including a partition panel detachably associated with the receptacle.
 4. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 3, wherein the partition panel is slidably accommodated by guides at the rear and forward extremities Of the receptacle.
 5. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 4, wherein the partition panel is of such length and width as to permit flatwise accommodation by the bottom of the receptacle after the partition panel has been detached.
 6. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the bottom panel is recessed to accommodate the lower portion of an article to be stored in the receptacle.
 7. A drawer receptacle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the side panels are inclined outwardly towards the upper margins thereof. 